Data-Driven Animation for Science Communication
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Data-Driven Animation for Science Communication
Instructor: Dr. Jessica Kendall-Bar
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What you'll learn
Learners will be able to replicate the data-driven animation process from conceptualization to asset creation, data visualization, and composition.
Learners will be able to make informed decisions between available programs and techniques for visualizing data.
Learners will be able to distill the methods, results, and implications of scientific research into an accessible, succinct, and impactful animation.
Skills you'll gain
Tools you'll learn
Details to know
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There are 5 modules in this course
In this course each student will create a scientific animation that tells a story with data to better communicate scientific results – along the way they will learn programming, science writing, and technical animation skills.
This course trains students in data-based storytelling that promotes research and science communication for the benefit of communities and policymakers on local and global scales. Students will draft a science writing script, create custom raster and vector graphics, data visualizations, and animations in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Autodesk Maya. For their final project, students will assemble these data-driven assets into an animated video abstract.
In this Module you will lay out the groundwork for your data-driven animation. You will pick a scientific study, tell its story, interpret a dataset, and compose a style guide that determines the fonts, colors, and mood of your animation. Using your script and style guide, you will plan out the action for each scene in your animation. After that, you will create a storyboard conveying the major action in your animation and, from that storyboard, create an animatic.
What's included
16 videos17 readings3 assignments1 peer review2 discussion prompts
16 videos•Total 119 minutes
- 🎥 Course Overview part 1 •15 minutes
- 🎥 Course Overview part 2•16 minutes
- 🎥 Course Overview part 3•14 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Intro to Data Visualization•27 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Before You Animate•10 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Conceptualization•2 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Storyboards•7 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Animatics•1 minute
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #1 & #2: Creating an Animatic in Premiere Pro•2 minutes
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #3: Setting up your project•3 minutes
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #4: Importing Media•3 minutes
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #5: Choosing Sequence Settings•1 minute
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #6: Adding media to timeline•4 minutes
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #7: Adjusting Image Size and Location•4 minutes
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #8: Adding Captions•5 minutes
- 🎬 Animatics Tutorial #9: Exporting your animatic•3 minutes
17 readings•Total 156 minutes
- 📓Welcome—How to Prepare for this Course•10 minutes
- Background—A New Approach to Data-Driven Storytelling•10 minutes
- 📓How to Navigate This Course•10 minutes
- 📓Alternative Software•10 minutes
- 📓Project Ideas•10 minutes
- 📓Session 1 Overview: Collaboration•3 minutes
- 📓Lecture: Before you animate: Data Description•10 minutes
- 📓 Style Guide•10 minutes
- 📓 Audience•10 minutes
- 📓 Script•10 minutes
- 📓 File Organization•10 minutes
- 🎤 Recording Tips•10 minutes
- 📓 Session 2 Overview: Conceptualization•3 minutes
- 📓 Storyboard•10 minutes
- 📓Creating an animatic in Premiere Pro•10 minutes
- 📓List of Key Assets•10 minutes
- 📓Budget & Contract (optional)•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 70 minutes
- 💥 Style Guide•10 minutes
- 💥 Script•30 minutes
- 🤔 Week 1 Exit Quiz•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 20 minutes
- 👀 Storyboard & Animatic •20 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- 💬Share Your Script (optional)•10 minutes
- Budget & Contract (optional)•10 minutes
In this Module you will use the animatic and list of assets from the last session to decide which custom assets to create. You will learn digital illustration techniques in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop to create these assets with specific attention paid to the future ability to animate the assets. We will create data visualizations, learning about different tools, programs, and guiding principles.
What's included
26 videos2 readings2 assignments2 discussion prompts
26 videos•Total 278 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Digital Art•1 minute
- 🎥 Lecture: Digital Illustration part 1•22 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Digital Illustration part 2•25 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #1: Creating Vector Graphics•2 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #2: Setting up Canvas with Reference Image•4 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #3: Automatic Image Trace Function•2 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #4: Using the Pencil Tool•4 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #5: Adding Stroke and fill•3 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #6: Using the Pen Tool•27 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #7: Illustrating an Animatable Face•17 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #8: Finishing Touches•2 minutes
- 🎬 Illustrator Tutorial #9: Exporting Vector Graphic Files•6 minutes
- 🎬 Photoshop Tutorial #1: Setting up Image Properties•6 minutes
- 🎬 Photoshop Tutorial #2: Setting up Layers•2 minutes
- 🎬 Photoshop Tutorial #3: Clipping Masks•5 minutes
- 🎬 Photoshop Tutorial #4: Digital Painting•57 minutes
- 🎬 Photoshop Tutorial #5: Adding Layer Styles•7 minutes
- 🎬 Photoshop Tutorial #6: Exporting Raster Graphics•1 minute
- 🎥 Lecture: Data Visualization•11 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Intro to Coding for Data Visualization•14 minutes
- 🎬 Data Visualization Tutorial #1: Quick Data Visualization using JMP•9 minutes
- 🎬 Data Visualization Tutorial #2: Editing PDF Export Figure in Illustrator•12 minutes
- 🎬 Data Visualization Tutorial #3: Fixing mysterious graphical artifacts•16 minutes
- 🎬 Data Visualization Tutorial #4: Editing Text and Axis Labels•19 minutes
- 🎬 Data Visualization Tutorial #5: Adding a Clipping Mask of your own•3 minutes
- 🎬 Data Visualization Tutorial #6: Exporting your illustrator file as a PNG•3 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
- 📓 Session 3 Overview: Digital Art & Design•10 minutes
- 📓 Session 4 Overview: Data Visualization•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 45 minutes
- 💥Critique & Reflection: Animatics & Key Assets•15 minutes
- 🤔 Week 2 Exit Quiz•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- 💬 Share Your 2D Raster & Vector Graphics (optional)•10 minutes
- 💬 Share your Key Figure (optional)•10 minutes
In this Module you will develop one of the scenes from your animatic into an animated scene that incorporates motion graphic principles. You will learn how to animate text, lines, and shapes in Adobe After Effects. You will also create an animated version of your improved key figure. We will learn to use JavaScript programming within Adobe After Effects to link data to the attributes of an animated 2D scene.
What's included
21 videos4 readings3 assignments2 discussion prompts
21 videos•Total 240 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Animation & Motion Graphics•2 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Introduction to Animation•18 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #1: Intro to 2D Animation in After Effects•13 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #2: Importing Assets & AE Orientation•9 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #3: Working with Shape Layers•17 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #4: Animating Shape Paths & Colors•9 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #5: Adding Trim Paths and Line Effects•11 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #6: Adding Textures and Layer Blending Modes•4 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #7: Adding & Animating Illustrator assets•19 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #8: Parenting Layers •4 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #9: A Little Bit About Masks•6 minutes
- 🎬 After Effects Tutorial #10: Exporting Animation•8 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Animating 2D Data•2 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: 2D Data-Driven Animation•19 minutes
- 🎬 Animating-Geospatial-DataTutorial •53 minutes
- 🎬 2D Data Driven AnimationTutorial #1: Composition Setup & Data Import•6 minutes
- 🎬 2D Data Driven AnimationTutorial #2: Animating 2D Data in After Effects•5 minutes
- 🎬 2D Data Driven AnimationTutorial #3: Composition Setup & Data Import•15 minutes
- 🎬 2D Data Driven AnimationTutorial #4: Add Visual Effects & Text•12 minutes
- 🎬 2D Data Driven AnimationTutorial #5: Make an Axis & Labels for Your Graph•7 minutes
- 🎬 2D Data Driven AnimationTutorial #6: Exporting Your 2D Animation•2 minutes
4 readings•Total 33 minutes
- 📓 Session 5 Overview: Animation & Motion Graphics•3 minutes
- 📓 Opening Activity: Animation Storyboard Sketch•10 minutes
- 📓 Session 6 Overview: Animating 2D Data•10 minutes
- 📓 Opening Activity: 2D Data Animation Storyboard Sketch•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 65 minutes
- 💥 Review Animation Storyboard Sketch •15 minutes
- 💥 Review 2D Data Animation Sketch•20 minutes
- 🤔 Week 3 Exit Quiz•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- 💬 Sharing Your Scene With Motion Graphics (optional)•10 minutes
- 💬 Share Your Key Figure (optional)•10 minutes
In this Module you will familiarize yourself with the interface of a 3D animation software, Autodesk Maya. You will use your own custom 3D model or a demo file to animate a locomotion cycle (walk, swim, fly, etc., depending on your organism). You will learn about the major steps of creating a 3D animation from modeling and rigging to animation and rendering. You will use the locomotion cycle to create a data-driven animation. We will learn how to use Python programming in Autodesk Maya to create data-driven 3D scenes.
What's included
17 videos4 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts
17 videos•Total 283 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Introduction to 3D Animation•31 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #1: Intro to 3D Animation in Autodesk Maya•5 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #2: Working with Polygons•18 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #3: Simple Animation•7 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #4: Adding Lights•5 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #5: Rendering with Arnold Renderer•15 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #6: Narwhal Scene Exploration•5 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #7: Creating Controls to Place & Pivot model•7 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #8: Animating a Locomotion (Swim) Cycle•19 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #9: Adding Offset for an Organic Animation•3 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #10: Export Playblast from Maya•20 minutes
- 🎬 Animating a Locomotion Cycle Tutorial #11: Create mp4 Sequence of PNGs in AE•9 minutes
- 🎥 Lecture: Animating 3D Data•5 minutes
- 📓Coding Maya Tutorial #1: Introduction•30 minutes
- 📓 Coding Maya Tutorial #2: Script Editor•15 minutes
- 📓Coding Maya Tutorial #3: Connecting Swim and Glide Controllers•32 minutes
- 📓 Coding Maya Tutorial #4: Connecting Data to Animation•58 minutes
4 readings•Total 40 minutes
- 📓 Session 7 Overview: Intro to 3D Animation•10 minutes
- Opening Activity: 3D Exploration in Maya•10 minutes
- 📓 Session 8 Overview: Animating 3D Data•10 minutes
- 📓 Code From Tutorial •10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- 🤔 Week 4 Exit Quiz•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- 💬 Share Your Animated 3D Scene (optional)•10 minutes
- 💬 Share Your Data-Driven 3D Animation (optional)•10 minutes
In this Module you will assemble the animated scenes you have generated into a fully produced animation. You will learn the basics of editing and composition using an Adobe workflow between Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. We will learn about the importance and power of musical accompaniment in creating your final composition. You will critique each other’s final projects in a peer reviewed assignment.
What's included
10 videos3 readings2 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt
10 videos•Total 75 minutes
- 🎥 Editing & Compositing•2 minutes
- Guest Lecture: Music Composition with Connor Vance•13 minutes
- 🎬 Editing & Compositing #1: Generating Automated Captions•6 minutes
- 🎬 Editing & Compositing #2: Linking After Effects Compositions•11 minutes
- 🎬 Editing & Compositing #3: Masking on 2D Graphics•8 minutes
- 🎬 Editing & Compositing #4: Editing Audio•6 minutes
- 🎬 Editing & Compositing #5: Example Final Composition•3 minutes
- 🎬 Editing & Compositing #6: Visualizing Sound•7 minutes
- 🎬 Editing & Compositing #7: Compositing and Animation in Linked Compositions•8 minutes
- 🎥 Final Critique & Communication Strategy•11 minutes
3 readings•Total 22 minutes
- 📓 Session 9 Overview: Editing, Compositing, and Custom Musical Scores•10 minutes
- 📓 Session 10 Overview: Communication Strategy•2 minutes
- 📓 Create Science Communication Strategy (optional)•10 minutes
2 assignments•Total 35 minutes
- 💥 Science Communication Strategy (optional)•20 minutes
- 🤔 Week 5 Exit Quiz: Self Reflection •15 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
- 👀 Final Composition •60 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- 💬 Update Your Storyboard (optional)•10 minutes
Instructor
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Reviewed on Nov 20, 2024
Amazing Course to cover all things in animation field
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